Evang. Joy Nyere
May 6, 20208 min
THE LAW OF MOSES: OFFERING/GIVING TO GOD
TEXT: EX 30: 13-16 KJV
The law of Moses is so vast and influential that it caused so much problems especially during the time of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees fought Jesus because they thought He came to blaspheme and contradict the law of Moses. And even after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles continued to face persecution following the teachings of Jesus. So, because of the vastness of this law, only a section of it will be discussed, and that’s “giving to God”. Thus, this write up will take the format of a Q&A, on concerns we may have regarding
giving to God.
There is something peculiar about giving to God. Giving to God has a spiritual significance that no man can fathom. It’s important for us to note that giving to God did not start as a law of Moses. It can be traced back to the creation of man. The bible recorded the offerings of Cain and Abel, seeds of the first man and woman created. The age at which the offerings were made was not told but we can tell that they did not suddenly begin to offer gifts to God, they must have watched their parents offer gifts as a family routine. Read: Genesis: 4: 3-4
And even God wiped mankind with flood save Noah, Noah offered to God immediately after the flood in Gen 8: 20. In Gen. 14: 19-20, Abraham offered tithes to priest Melchizadek, the king of Salem. This tells us that giving to God did not start with the law of Moses, and if it started with the creation of mankind, then this act must be very important to God. if giving did not come as a law in the time of Adam, to Noah, and even to Abraham, then it must have come as a result of the leading of the Holy Spirit. Which shows us without doubt that the act of giving to God must be very important to God.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GIVING TO GOD
I would like to note that the act of giving to God has both a physical and a spiritual significance. Just like the way we consume food, and the body absorbs the nutrients while the chaff goes out of the body as waste, so it is with giving to God. When we give gifts to God, God takes up the nutrient while, the chaff goes to the priest, pastors or ministers. We shouldn’t be bothered about the spiritual significance because God does what He pleases. But we want to be mindful of the significance that pertains to us. Though they are physically consumed by the priest, the offerings we offer is for:
1. The atonement of our souls (EX. 30: 13-16).
2. To prevent plagues and sicknesses.
3. To remove devourers (Mal. 3: 11).
4. For the tabernacle/God’s church Ex. 25: 1-8
5. To help us win battle against our enemies.
6. For breakthroughs
7. That we may not lack, etc.
TYPES OF OFFERING
The types of offering can be found in Ex. 29, but a well detailed explanation is found in the book of Leviticus. There are several types of offering but we will list out some.
1. Burnt Offering: Ex. 29: 13-18, Leviticus chap. 1 & 6
This type of offering requires that the animal be burnt completely.
2. Wave offering: Ex. 29: 22-24
In this type of offering, Aaron was commanded to wave, as the name implies, and consume it after waving for it is his part to consume.
3. Peace & Heave Offering: Ex. 29: 28, Leviticus chap 7
4. Sin Offering: Ex. 29: 14, Leviticus chap 4
5. Guilt offering: Leviticus 5
6. Praise Offering: Heb 13: 15-16
7. Tithes: Malachi 3: 8-11
8. First Fruits: Exodus 23: 16 & 19, 34: 22
Note: please be aware that most of these offerings are no longer required of us since the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we carefully go through these scriptures, we would notice that the blood from the offered animals was what God used. But since the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer required to use the blood of any animal, neither are we required to shed the blood of any human being for sanctification. God has never required the shedding of human blood. The devil, in wanting to imitate God and be like God, copied God’s command to confuse people and make people believe that he is god and so has required his agents to shed blood. God almighty expects us to only use the blood of Jesus Christ in place of those animals. Therefore, God did not stop the act of sanctification, but changed the method of sanctification. The Blood of Jesus Christ is our greatest offering. Knowing the types of offering that are there, what then can we offer to God?
· Praises
· The products of your handwork
· Money
· Time
· Services: serving God with your talents and everything you have.
WHEN SHOULD YOU OFFER TO GOD?
1. Anytime we go into God’s house – in the book of Exodus 23: 15, God commands us not to appear before Him empty. Therefore, anytime we go into God’s house, we are encouraged to offer something to God. it does not matter what you have, be it your talent, or resources.
2. We must offer anytime that God blesses us: the blessings of God is not only on money. God blesses all round. The life we live is a free Gift from God. therefore, it is God’s command that we offer to Him a sacrifice of praise every day. the book of Isaiah 38: 18 says that the “the grave cannot praise you, the death cannot sing your praise” verse 19 went on to say that “only the living praise you”. Therefore, whenever God blesses us, be it life, love, finance, marriage, children, talents, achievements, and so on, we must offer back to Him in praise, service, and money or products. In Genesis 4, when priest Melchizadek, King of Salem, visited Abraham with bread and wine, Abraham offered tithes to Him in return.
3. We must offer at least 3 times a year: the book of Exodus 23 explained three feasts that the children of Israel are supposed to observe. The feast of Passover, the feast of harvest/firstfruits/Pentecost, and the feast of ingathering/tabernacles.
Read: Exodus 23: 14-16 KJV— The Three Annual Festivals
My encouragement is that we offer during the times of these festivals, not necessarily keeping the tradition of the unleavened bread and others, but to ensure to offer something tangible to God or sow seeds during these times. The feast of the Passover could be done during Easter time when we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. At that time, we are encouraged to offer something whether money, time, gifts, talents, services to God. then the feast of the firstfruits could be done at the beginning of the year or a month when we have the opportunity to offer our firstfruits. Finally, the feast of ingathering could done at the end of the year when we have taken stock of all our profits & blessings from the beginning of the year. The basic idea is to offer and not to keep tradition.
4. Generally, let’s offer when the Spirit of God leads us.
WHEN SHOULD YOU BEGIN TO OFFER?
Exodus 30: 14 NIV
14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.
There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is good to offer according to how the Spirit of God leads us to. Even little children can offer with the money given to them by their parents, or with their talents. It is okay for them to practice and learn so that when they grow or get to age 20, they would understand better the act of giving to God. at age 20, you are considered an adult and are independent. Then at age 20, you are offering what you worked for.
OFFERING THAT PLEASES GOD
1. Firstfruits: EX 34: 18-22
2. Tithes: Malachi 3: 8-12
3. Offering done in righteousness. Malachi 3: 3-4
There are offerings that please or displease God, hence, there are offerings that God accepts or rejects. Offerings that please Him, He accepts while He rejects offerings that displease Him. Sometimes, we worry about what happens to the gifts we offer in church, or the seeds we sow in people’s lives, but we forget to focus on if God would accept our gifts or not. God only accepts gifts that please Him. When we offer firstfruits, it shows how important we take God. it’s not easy give out your first income for the year, month, or any first income. It’s one of the hardest things to do. but it pleases God to show Him how important He is to us. It pleases God when you offer without sentiments or bias but in truth and in spirit with cheerfulness. Don’t offer like you are being forced to but offer with a cheerful heart, with all willingness. It pleases God that you offer your best without worrying about who receives it physically. Tithes belong to God, but it must be offered in righteousness for God to accept it. Therefore, do not worry about how much you give your pastor/priest or what they do with your gifts. They have been ordained to physically receive our gifts and offering but God receives them spiritually. The gifts that the pastors/priests receive is like chaff because God has absorbed the nutrients just like the process of digestion. If the pastors/priests do not please God with the gifts they physically receive, judgement is theirs but not yours. Judgement will be yours if you fail to offer or you offer unacceptable gifts. God does not need your offerings to be God, He remains God forever. But it will remain a mystery what God does with our offerings, I for one know that it is for my good and for His glory. Therefore, we must not let the devil steal God’s glory, nor our blessings. Let us offer to God.
I had mentioned that tithes belong to God, it is completely His. For this reason, I want us to note that when we fail to offer our tithes, we are then stealing from God. Read: Malachi 3: 8-14 NIV
Who Consumes the gifts offered to God?
Like we have explained above, God consumes our offerings spiritually, while the priests/pastors consume them physically. Remember in the book of Exodus 29 where we have the types of offering, in verse 26, God directed Aaron on how to go about with the wave offering and on which part to take as his “26 After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share”. Also, in 1Cor. 9, St. Paul gave an illustration to inform that the priest is entitled to the offerings made. Therefore, it’s the entitlement of the priests/pastors to receive and consume these gifts. Read: 1 Corinthians 9: 9-13
Did the coming of Jesus Christ change this law?
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ did not change this law but to fulfil the law (matt 5: 17-20 NIV).
The Bible verses quoted above explain to us that the law has come to stay and that our Lord Jesus Christ came for us to fulfil this law, and not to abolish it. It has been established already that we have only one law which is the law given to Moses. When the scribes and Pharisees talk about the law, they only referred to the law of Moses. The book of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy gave a complete detail of God’s law to Moses. Some of us are used to seeing the old testament as outdated. It shouldn’t be so, everything in the old testament remains because it’s God’s word. Jesus came to help us fulfil that law of Moses, but the pharisees and Sadducees thought Jesus came to change the law and they fought Him hard. These Bible verses show us that God does not change. Read: Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 55: 11
In conclusion, this is an admonishment to all Christians, that giving to God goes beyond the physical act that we see, it’s spiritual. It’s an act that pleases God, that’s why the enemy fights so hard to put it to a stop. But we must persist, strive to not only give to God, but also to give cheerfully so that God accepts our gifts. Do not worry about what happens to your gifts physically, be worried about the spiritual, about God accepting it. For the pastors, preachers, ministers that receive these gifts physically, ensure to use them according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that you don’t bring judgement on yourself. God bless us all!!!